


Promise to rusalka

by Niibeth



Category: Dredd (2012), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Graphic Novel, Illustrated, M/M, MerMay 2018, NSFW Art, Rusalka (Water Spirit), Russia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-06 20:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14655231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niibeth/pseuds/Niibeth
Summary: Matt works in a big environmental project: the city is cleaning one of its infamous river channels. When he spots a pale face in an old drowned car, he expects the worst.





	Promise to rusalka

**Author's Note:**

> There are 6 pictures and a very short commentary.
> 
> English is my second language, so feel free to point at the grammar errors.
> 
> Let's be friends on Tumblr - I'm [Niibeth](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/niibeth).

Workers have been joking about finding human corpses all day long. No wonder, that when Matt finally managed to reach the rusty drowned car, he spotted a pale face inside. Only the slimy deep sludge prevented his fall. When he regained the balance, the face was no longer there.

By some miracle the car was still half filled with dark water. Matt stood very still, waiting for his eyes to adjust, in case there is indeed something inside. Suddenly the water splashed, and human head appeared from it, gulped for air and vanished again.

So, it was clearly not a dead body. Maybe some onlooker? There were a lot of them when workers drained the channel. Making selfies, trying to overpass the barriers to search for treasures. What if someone managed to hide in the car and now doesn’t want to leave it out of embarrassment? It was stupid, but Matt did a lot of stupid things in his life and couldn’t blame the treasure-hunter.

\- Hey! You’ll catch your death here, - Matt called - Get out. I will not hurt you. Promise. I will help you.

Water disturbed once again, and he saw that he wasn’t talking to a common inquisitive citizen.

\- You promise? - the creature asked.

Matt remembered the tanks where the environment department workers transshipped the saved fish. The problem was in the delivery. Most of the spectators have left, but there still were some workers on the site and pedestrians watching from the bridge. His first intention was to cover the tail of the rusalka, but then he would have to answer why is he carrying a naked person…

He made the least forthcoming grimace as he marched to the fish tanks, but it didn’t help.

\- Gods, Matt, what is this monster!?  
\- Silurus!  
\- Holy shit. I heard they have found one that carried a Nazi helmet inside. This one can eat a man too.  
\- I’m more of a carp, - Whispered rusalka under the hood of Matt’s coat - We don’t eat people.

The way home took hours. First time in his life he noticed that the city wasn’t suitable for the people on the wheels. Finally, he managed to haul the trolley almost to the door of his apartment. He carried rusalka to the bathroom. The creature in his arms was silent and slack. Fortunately, as soon as the bath filled with cold water, rusalka opened their eyes and breathed hoarsely.

\- Better?  
\- Yes… Where we are? Is that a lab!?

Rusalka squirmed and splashed the water around.

\- No, no. It’s my bathroom, in my apartment… Are you hungry?

After the plate of open sandwiches, they both felt calmer. But it was obvious that even if they change water constantly, rusalka can’t survive long in a tiny bathtub. Matt found an old state atlas and pointed at the city water storage reservoir.

\- I can get you there in the morning. I think from there you can swim almost anywhere. Look - he flipped the pages - For instance, that’s Chernaya river, my granny has a house there, and they are connected… here and here.  
Rusalka carefully traced the drawing of the river with a pale webbed finger.

\- I wish a had such a map when I… - rusalka stopped.  
\- I can make it waterproof - Matt suggested - I will cover the pages in plastic. Then I will change the water in the tank and we will be on our way.

Now he had some time to prepare, so he used it to find in the Internet a freight company that for some extra charge has sent him a car with an uninquiring driver, who helped to haul up the tank and left Matt the keys. He drove fast through the empty night city and in 45 minutes was on the shore of reservoir.  
…  
Three days later only the reprimand from a supervisor reminded Matt that one time in his life he has witnessed a miracle. Several weeks later he even visited the shore of the reservoir again, but it was empty, and the cold rain soon drove the human away.

Matt told himself that it all was a play of imagination. He avoided city rivers after that. He even skipped visits to granny, though city was unbearable in the heat of the late summer. Finally, mom give him an incentive in the form of “Because I tell you so” and he took a train to the village. Granny was happy to see him, and he spent the whole day working in the garden and then watched TV with her. But in the ungodly early morning she woke him up, carrying a bundle of sandwiches, thermos with coffee, bucket and a fishing rod. “I wouldn’t forgive myself, - she said, - If my boy spent the weekend working”.

Now he sat on the bank of a narrow cold stream, staring at the clear water. Hours passed. The mood didn’t get better. He could try fishing, as well, he thought and started disentangling the line.

He almost impaled his finger on the fishhook, when he heard the familiar voice:

\- Fuck. I’m so bad in maps. Do you know that there like 40 rivers with that name?


End file.
